


Game of the Heart: Holiday Edition

by ch4rminglycr33py



Series: Game of the Heart [2]
Category: No Straight Roads (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Feelings Realization, Fluff and Angst, Headcanon, Implied Relationships, M/M, Multi, PTSD, Slow Burn, Social Anxiety, Some serious talk in later chapters, Trauma, and swears, lemme alone, look im simpin, possible nsfw occassionally, rated M for serious topics, real world things or similarities
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-30
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:42:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28121814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ch4rminglycr33py/pseuds/ch4rminglycr33py
Summary: The holidays have come to Vinyl City and the stir of excitement has swept through the entire seafront. Keeping the city's power has become stable, backup planning has seen to keeping the blackouts to a minimum thanks to the hard efforts of NSR and B2J. All this hard work should be rewarded with a well deserved break. What happens when the city's elite artists decide to take up an offer of a holiday vacation? Hearts will be warmed, cold shoulders will be melted, emotions will come to highs and lows.
Relationships: DJ Subatomic Supernova & Neon J., DJ Subatomic Supernova/Original Character(s), Eve | Nadia/Mayday (No Straight Roads), Neon J./Yinu's Mother (No Straight Roads)
Series: Game of the Heart [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2165298
Kudos: 13





	1. Dinner Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans don't always go as you want them to

“What do you mean ‘You’re leaving for 2 weeks’, Rinh?” 

“I..I don’t know how I could make that any simpler, Nova,” an almost exasperated voice responded. Not looking at the massive man, the tiny woman stirred the pot of curry she had 0been making for dinner. “I know we had some plans to spend time together, but something important came up. I’m sorry sweetie, but think of it this way: you’ll have time to do whatever you want. You can’t _possibly_ want me bugging you the entire time of your vacation.”

Since the fiasco of B2J’s revolution and the subsequent revitalization of NSR criterium--not to mention the construction of the new district for indie artists--the artists of NSR had been practically burning the candle at both ends in their efforts to produce even more energy than before. Even with the completion, it wasn’t going to magically change overnight; so, everyone was putting in their best. Now that the holidays were rolling in and their seasonal concerts had just finished, they’d manage to make some decent energy surplus, so Tatiana had rewarded their efforts with a well deserved vacation. 

Being given all this time, they of course set out on their own endeavours. Eve was hosting a new opening at her gallery, Neon J and Plumeria planned to spend the holiday with each other and their families, Sayu’s crew were having a party to play all the games that had piled up through the months. Even Mayday and Zuke were doing something fun. Subatomic had planned on spending some of his free time with his little Star, yet now she was leaving him, much to the prideful man’s dismay. 

Though he would never admit it out loud, obviously.

It had been some time since they’d started seeing each other, though never labeling themselves as anything official. He enjoyed her company as she did his, she was entertaining to talk to at times, especially when she had something she was genuinely passionate about. Both had a tendency to let time get away from them when they threw themselves fully into a project. 

To be quite frank, he thought she was simpleton like everyone else, so far from his celestial light that her presence barely made a spark in his eye, and yet.. Here he was. In her flat. Having dinner with her. These had become frequent occurrences between them. He didn’t see it as a chore or grievance, it was nice to have someone to enjoy a meal with and it was something they seemed to look forward to. 

From his spot on the couch his gaze shifted towards the small woman as he watched her silently, her news still knocking around his helmet, the shifting nebula giving way that he was lost in his thoughts.   
  


Rinh was by no means ordinary; a stranger could have mistaken her for a teenager, given her diminutive height. At a surprisingly short 4’6’’, she could just barely see over the stovetop, which meant she had to rely on a stool to reach a lot of things in her home. It was incredibly entertaining, especially in his company, to see just how she stacked up next to him, barely standing past his stomach, if not his hip, give or take. 

Though, if one were to make the mistake of doubting her because of her height, they were in for an ugly surprise.   
  
Noticing his prolonged silence, Rinh hopped down from the stool to make her way toward him. “What? You act like I’m going away forever,” she mused, a look of mischief flitting across her face as her lips curled. “Aww, is someone gonna miss me~?” as she cupped his ‘face’. 

It wasn’t often that she teased him, but when she did, she reveled in it.

“I do not _miss_ anyone,” he retorted curtly.

“Yes yes, all are but simpletons to the great Earthly Avatar that is **_DJ SUBATOMIC SUPERNOVA_ **!” she bellowed, arms raised to the heavens as if his name were to be praised religiously. Despite her playful jabs, she admired the way he carried himself; perhaps she stuck around him often in the hope that some of that confidence would rub off onto her. 

“Such a comedian, _Starlight_ ,” he said, the last word coming out softly. As his massive hands encircled her waist effortlessly, she leaned in, affectionately bumping her head against his helmet. 

She enjoyed the silence between them. Never would they be so affectionate in the public eye--after all, he had a reputation to uphold-- but these private moments between them, free from nosy busybodies, felt special. 

After what seemed like lightyears, Rinh reluctantly pulled away from him to go finish dinner. Setting her small coffee table with a salad for them to share and beverages, she plated their meal of katsu curry, setting them down before taking a seat. “And before you ask, no it’s not spicy, Spaceman~” Learning from the last few times they’d eaten, his palate was incredibly sensitive, probably from all the Dodo Ice Pops he inhaled. Anything spicier than pepper was enough to almost send the man heading for the hills, or at the very least, not finish the food.   
  
“Where are you headed off to exactly?” he questioned between bites. He didn’t care... or, at least that’s what he told himself. 

“Mm? Ah, I’m headed back to my parents house for a visit. I’ve been missing them and I wanted to spend Christmas with them since it’s been a few years.” Rinh gulped down her bite between words, nearly choking as she struggled to simultaneously speak and eat. She grabbed her beer and took a swig to chase it down. “It’s a while away by train so I’m headed out the day after tomorrow. Why?”  
  
Subatomic shook his head, “No reason really... Maybe I’ll come see you off.”   
  
Rinh smiled softly. “You don’t have to do that. I know you’re probably going to be busy, so don’t worry about it,” she tried to reassure him. Although there was no denying that it made her happy that he’d even offered to do such a thing, she didn’t want to be a bother so she didn’t ask.

They finished the rest of the meal with idle chatter--mostly her asking and listening to him going on about some recent research--before he took notice of the time. He offered to help her with the dishes before heading off, figuring she still had some packing left to do. All of this was however, just a chance to excuse himself for a conference. 

Digging his phone from his pocket, he punched in the number of someone he could tolerate as a colleague.

“J? I need to speak with you about something...”


	2. Embers of Regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some gamers game and Subatomic and Neon have a little heart to heart

The flicking of joystick controllers, rustling of chip bags, and overlapping calls seemed to echo down the hallway of the dorm floor of Kura Kura. The crew barked orders at each other as they were deep in a boss fight. Sofa being the most confident in his tanking was dodging the boss’s strikes, rolling just in the nick of time. Remi grumbled, since he had unfortunately gotten the hell beaten out of him and had to go back to camp to heal and restock. Tila was doing her best with her long range, getting in as much chip damage as she could and trying not to die. Dodo, as their healer, was running low on potions, so he was struggling.    
  
“I’m gonna back off for a bit to try and craft some; maybe when Remi gets back I can swap out and restock,” Dodo muttered, his character rounding a half broken pillar as Sofa tried to drag the boss out of range to keep aggro.    
  
“I’m almost there. Stupid lizard is getting startled,” Remi complained, opting to just back himself.   
  
The door to their gaming room flung up as Rinh let herself inside, “Yo! What’s up, lil Sayukins?”   
  
“Hey Rinh!” they called collectively, not really able to spare a minute to greet her properly--not that she minded. 

After taking a seat on the couch, she watched them while scrolling through her social media on her phone. She waited for them to finish their farm run since it was incredibly frustrating to get so far and die and she didn’t want to add to their stress.

It took a while, but the group eventually let out a collective sigh of frustrated triumph, the game victory music blaring through the speakers.

“Finally…holy crap.” Remi practically flopped on his bean bag chair, mentally winded.

“Nice job, pog champs,” Rinh snickered quietly. 

Remi shot her a glare at the reference. “Oh God not you too. These two won’t shut up about that.'' His eyes honed in on Dodo and Sofa, who were causally ignoring him as Rinh cackled. “You came by for that thing right? For your cousin? Tila should know where it is; I think she said she wrapped it for you.” After all that panic inducing yelling, he shuffled his way towards the mini fridge for some ramune.

Tila jumped up from her seat, dotting toward the gaming shelf. “I think I put it between some things so it’d stay flat. Gimme ...one second...” She was trying to find where she’d put it, climbing onto a step stool to reach the higher shelves. Eventually, after she fished out a sandwich of cardboard and tape, she peeked in before handing it over to Rinh. “Here you go--a signed poster of Sayu! We also threw in some charms and buttons,” she added, handing Rinh a small bundle of themed wrapping tissue, neatly decorated with a bow and a tag.    
  
Rinh smiled, taking the presents. “Thanks guys, she’s gonna love these. Have you guys been going since the end of your concert?”

Remi came over, handing Tila a bottle of ramune and taking a seat on the couch. “Yea, since we’ve got more time now, we’ve been farming like crazy. The new boss got patched in during the concerts, so now that we have time off, we gotta get upgrades before we can attempt it.”

Sofa nodded. “It’s stupid hard. We went in just to get a feel for it and we got blasted almost immediately.” His usually chipper smile looked a little downtrodden, but determined.

They were plenty capable; it would take a bit of grinding but these were kids that had managed to practically become idols, so of course a small farm party was nothing to them.

“Heh, well you guys got this, I know you can,” Rinh offered a confident thumbs up.

“You’re headed out tomorrow, yea?” Dodo looked up from his bag of honey potato chips.

They were really the few that knew Rinh was leaving town for a few weeks, and considering her frequent visits to them to hangout, it almost felt like it was going to be lonely. 

“We wanna see you off!!” Tila chimed in, her Sayu level of excitement bubbling up. 

Tila always seemed like a quiet girl back when she first started talking to them, so seeing her so chipper was always refreshing. Remi, even when he was snappy with people, was still a kind and caring friend. Dodo and Sofa, even with their sluggish nature and apprehension, were incredibly determined when it came down to it. They all just seemed to shine when they would perform. Thinking about it, Rinh couldn’t help but smile. Seeing her friends thrive like this was... almost enough to make her want to cry.

“Yea, sure I don’t mind that. I won’t be headed out ‘til... around noon, so you guys won’t have to rush.” Checking her phone, she decided to head out, still having some errands to run before she left. “Imma head out, see you guys tomorrow.”

“Yea, see you tomorrow!”   
  
  


Neon J couldn’t help but sigh at his old friend. Subatomic’s call last night made it sound like it was urgent, judging by how sullen he seemed, so J invited him over to talk the following day.

He knew the man was never one to really invest himself fully in emotion, let alone romance, deeming it a distraction to his ideals. J knew this all too well, having tried to pursue something with him years ago. Even though it didn’t go as he’d hoped, they still remained close friends. 

“So... you’re worried about missing her?” the cyborg questioned, though it sounded very matter-of-factly.

“I... Hm. I can’t say for sure, if I’m being truthful. I thought myself above feelings... After the last time, I resigned myself to the idea of being alone until I am to float among the stars for eternity. Yet, she persists to remain in my gravitation.” Subatomic tapped his chin curiously.

It was obvious that he was confused about this judging by the shifting galaxies of his helmet.

Considering how he usually was, it was amusing for J to see the usually collected man flustered like this. Neon J smiled on the inside, so to speak. Shifting closer, he placed a hand on the DJ’s leg, the simple touch startling Subatomic out of his thought with a jump. 

“Nova...” Though one couldn’t clearly read it in his face, J was still concerned for him. “I know you think that your emotions are inconsequential, but denying them is only going to bring you grief. When we tried, it did hurt that we didn’t work out in that way, but you are still an incredibly important person to me, as a work mate and as a friend. I grieved, I accepted, coped and continued on. I can’t say I know how you dealt with yours, but it feels like you have stagnated on any kind of growth. You can tell me if I’m wrong, of course.”

Subatomic grimaced, almost as if he didn’t want to think about the heartache he’d cause Neon. He knew that he’d hurt him, and it genuinely terrified him.

He had been so focused on his own ideals that he’d neglected the ideals and feelings of someone who wanted to be close with him; as such, they’d grown distant until they’d reached a breaking point. 

“I... I think I want to pursue this, but I’m afraid of messing up again.” Subatomic’s words sounded strained, a sense of humiliation washing over him. No--maybe regret? Regret for not treating J better? Was he doing this to try and redeem himself? So many thoughts swirled in his head that it felt suffocating.

Neon could practically feel the panic. And it made his heart ache to see Subatomic like this.

Cupping his head, Neon leaned in, clinking their heads together, the green of Neon’s radar glimmering in the nebula swirling in Sub’s head, “Nova... breathe. I know it’s scary. The uncertainty if you can do it. Wanting to do better. To **_be_** better than before. But you won’t know unless you try, my friend.” Pulling away, Neon ran a thumb along Subatomic’s helmet. “I want you to be happy, Nova. Can you let yourself be happy... For me?”

Leaning into Neon’s touch, Subatomic let out a sigh, “I... will try. I will try to let myself be happy. Thank you, Neon..”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a little fun with this chapter, gamers be gamin'. Old men be...feelin'? Idk xD


	3. Current Status

So things have been slow as I've been mentally trying to figure out how I wanna do this chapter and storyline in general. I want to flex canon x canon in but I feel like it would be awkward fillers, and I dunno how anyone feels about that. I am also wanting to revise the first couple of chapters and give them more body. I feel like there should be more detail of people things etc instead of just slapping it in without any kinda proper intro. So as I'm working on the next chapter I will be doing rewrites and hopefully can feel more proud to let the story flow. It may take a tiny while since school has started up again for me so sorry if its a wait ^^;


End file.
